Fourth Kathisma

The Psalter of David

Fourth Kathisma

Psalm 24

Unto the end, the Psalm of David.

To thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul. In thee, O my God, I put my trust; let me not be ashamed. Neither let my enemies laugh at me: for none of them that wait on thee shall be confounded. Let all them be confounded that act unjust things without cause. Shew, O Lord, thy ways to me, and teach me thy paths. Direct me in thy truth, and teach me; for thou art God my Saviour; and on thee have I waited all the day long. Remember, O Lord, thy bowels of compassion; and thy mercies that are from the beginning of the world. The sins of my youth and my ignorances do not remember. According to thy mercy remember thou me: for thy goodness’ sake, O Lord. The Lord is sweet and righteous: therefore he will give a law to sinners in the way. He will guide the mild in judgment: he will teach the meek his ways. All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth, to them that seek after his covenant and his testimonies. For thy name’s sake, O Lord, thou wilt pardon my sin: for it is great. Who is the man that feareth the Lord? He hath appointed him a law in the way he hath chosen. His soul shall dwell in good things: and his seed shall inherit the land. The Lord is a firmament to them that fear him: and his covenant shall be made manifest to them. My eyes are ever towards the Lord: for he shall pluck my feet out of the snare. Look thou upon me, and have mercy on me; for I am alone and poor. The troubles of my heart are multiplied: deliver me from my necessities. See my abjection and my labour; and forgive me all my sins. Consider my enemies for they are multiplied, and have hated me with an unjust hatred. Keep thou my soul, and deliver me: I shall not be ashamed, for I have hoped in thee. The innocent and the upright have adhered to me: because I have waited on thee. Deliver Israel, O God, from all his tribulations.

Psalm 25

Unto the end, the Psalm of David.

Judge me, O Lord, for I have walked in my innocence: and I have put my trust in the Lord, and shall not be weakened. Prove me, O Lord, and try me; burn my reins and my heart. For thy mercy is before my eyes; and I am well pleased with thy truth. I have not sat with the council of vanity: neither will I go in with the doers of unjust things. I have hated the assembly of the malignant; and with the wicked I will not sit. I will wash my hands among the innocent; and will compass thy altar, O Lord: That I may hear the voice of thy praise: and tell of all thy wondrous works. I have loved, O Lord, the beauty of thy house; and the place where thy glory dwelleth. Take not away my soul, O God, with the wicked: nor my life with bloody men: In whose hands are iniquities: their right hand is filled with gifts. But as for me, I have walked in my innocence: redeem me, and have mercy on me. My foot hath stood in the direct way: in the churches I will bless thee, O Lord.

Psalm 26

The Psalm of David before he was anointed.

The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life: of whom shall I be afraid? Whilst the wicked draw near against me, to eat my flesh. My enemies that trouble me, have themselves been weakened, and have fallen. If armies in camp should stand together against me, my heart shall not fear. If a battle should rise up against me, in this will I be confident. One thing I have asked of the Lord, this will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. That I may see the delight of the Lord, and may visit his temple. For he hath hidden me in his tabernacle; in the day of evils, he hath protected me in the secret place of his tabernacle. He hath exalted me upon a rock: and now he hath lifted up my head above my enemies. I have gone round, and have offered up in his tabernacle a sacrifice of jubilation: I will sing, and recite a psalm to the Lord. Hear, O Lord, my voice, with which I have cried to thee: have mercy on me and hear me. My heart hath said to thee: My face hath sought thee: thy face, O Lord, will I still seek. Turn not away thy face from me; decline not in thy wrath from thy servant. Be thou my helper, forsake me not; do not thou despise me, O God my Saviour. For my father and my mother have left me: but the Lord hath taken me up. Set me, O Lord, a law in thy way, and guide me in the right path, because of my enemies. Deliver me not over to the will of them that trouble me; for unjust witnesses have risen up against me; and iniquity hath lied to itself. I believe to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living. Expect the Lord, do manfully, and let thy heart take courage, and wait thou for the Lord.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages, Amen.Alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God. 3., with bows.Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages, Amen.

Psalm 27

Psalm to David himself.

Unto thee will I cry, O Lord: O my God, be not thou silent to me: lest if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit. Hear, O Lord, the voice of my supplication, when I pray to thee; when I lift up my hands to thy holy temple. Draw me not away together with the wicked; and with the workers of iniquity destroy me not: Who speak peace with their neighbour, but evils are in their hearts. Give them according to their works, and according to the wickedness of their inventions. According to the works of their hands give thou to them: render to them their reward. Because they have not understood the works of the Lord, and the operations of his hands: thou shalt destroy them, and shalt not build them up. Blessed be the Lord, for he hath heard the voice of my supplication. The Lord is my helper and my protector: in him hath my heart confided, and I have been helped. And my flesh hath flourished again, and with my will I will give praise to him. The Lord is the strength of his people, and the protector of the salvation of his anointed. Save, O Lord, thy people, and bless thy inheritance: and rule them and exalt them for ever.

Psalm 28

The Psalm of David in the Consummation of the Tabernacle.

Bring to the Lord, O ye children of God: bring to the Lord the offspring of rams. Bring to the Lord glory and honour: bring to the Lord glory to his name: adore ye the Lord in his holy court. The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of majesty hath thundered, The Lord is upon many waters. The voice of the Lord is in power; the voice of the Lord in magnificence. The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars: yea, the Lord shall break the cedars of Libanus. And shall reduce them to pieces, as a calf of Libanus, and as the beloved son of unicorns. The voice of the Lord divideth the flame of fire: The voice of the Lord shaketh the desert: and the Lord shall shake the desert of Cades. The voice of the Lord prepareth the stags: and he will discover the thick woods: and in his temple all shall speak his glory. The Lord maketh the flood to dwell: and the Lord shall sit king for ever. The Lord will give strength to his people: the Lord will bless his people with peace.

Psalm 29

A Psalm of Canticle, in the Dedication of David’s House.

I will extol thee, O Lord, for thou hast upheld me: and hast not made my enemies to rejoice over me. O Lord my God, I have cried to thee, and thou hast healed me. Thou hast brought forth, O Lord, my soul from hell: thou hast saved me from them that go down into the pit. Sing to the Lord, O ye his saints: and give praise to the memory of his holiness. For wrath is in his indignation; and life in his good will. In the evening weeping shall have place, and in the morning gladness. And in my abundance I said: I shall never be moved. O Lord, in thy favour, thou gavest strength to my beauty. Thou turnedst away thy face from me, and I became troubled. To thee, O Lord, will I cry: and I will make supplication to my God. What profit is there in my blood, whilst I go down to corruption? Shall dust confess to thee, or declare thy truth? The Lord hath heard, and hath had mercy on me: the Lord became my helper. Thou hast turned for me my mourning into joy: thou hast cut my sackcloth, and hast compassed me with gladness: To the end that my glory may sing to thee, and I may not regret: O Lord my God, I will give praise to thee for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages, Amen.Alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God. 3., with bows.Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages, Amen.

Psalm 30

Unto the end, the Psalm of David, for excess of mind.

In thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be confounded: deliver me in thy justice. Bow down thy ear to me: make haste to deliver me. Be thou unto me a God, a protector, and a house of refuge, to save me. For thou art my strength and my refuge; and for thy name’s sake thou wilt lead me, and nourish me. Thou wilt bring me out of this snare, which they have hidden for me: for thou art my protector. Into thy hands I commend my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth. Thou hast hated them that regard vanities, to no purpose. But I have hoped in the Lord: I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy. For thou hast regarded my humility, thou hast saved my soul out of distresses. And thou hast not shut me up in the hands of the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a spacious place. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am afflicted: my eye is troubled with wrath, my soul, and my belly: For my life is wasted with grief: and my years in sighs. My strength is weakened through poverty and my bones are disturbed. I am become a reproach among all my enemies, and very much to my neighbours; and a fear to my acquaintances. They that saw me without fled from me. I am forgotten as one dead from the heart. I am become as a vessel that is destroyed. For I have heard the blame of many that dwell round about. While they assembled together against me, they consulted to take away my life. But I have put my trust in thee, O Lord: I said: Thou art my God. My lots are in thy hands. Deliver me out of the hands of my enemies; and from them that persecute me. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; save me in thy mercy. Let me not be confounded, O Lord, for I have called upon thee. Let the wicked be ashamed, and be brought down to hell. Let deceitful lips be made dumb. Which speak iniquity against the just, with pride and abuse. O how great is the multitude of thy sweetness, O Lord, which thou hast hidden for them that fear thee! Which thou hast wrought for them that hope in thee, in the sight of the sons of men. Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy face, from the disturbance of men. Thou shalt protect them in thy tabernacle from the contradiction of tongues. Blessed be the Lord, for he hath shewn his wonderful mercy to me in a fortified city. But I said in the excess of my mind: I am cast away from before thy eyes. Therefore thou hast heard the voice of my prayer, when I cried to thee. O love the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord will require truth, and will repay them abundantly that act proudly. Do ye manfully, and let your heart be strengthened, all ye that hope in the Lord.

Psalm 31

To David himself understanding.

Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord hath not imputed sin, and in whose spirit there is no guile. Because I was silent my bones grew old; whilst I cried out all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: I am turned in my anguish, whilst the thorn is fastened. I have acknowledged my sin to thee, and my injustice I have not concealed. I said I will confess against my self my injustice to the Lord: and thou hast forgiven the wickedness of my sin. For this shall every one that is holy pray to thee in a seasonable time. And yet in a flood of many waters, they shall not come nigh unto him. Thou art my refuge from the trouble which hath encompassed me: my joy, deliver me from them that surround me. I will give thee understanding, and I will instruct thee in this way, in which thou shalt go: I will fix my eyes upon thee. Do not become like the horse and the mule, who have no understanding. With bit and bridle bind fast their jaws, who come not near unto thee. Many are the scourges of the sinner, but mercy shall encompass him that hopeth in the Lord. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye just, and glory, all ye right of heart.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.Now and ever, and unto the ages of ages, Amen.Alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God. 3., with bows.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Penitential Troparia.

In my desire for the mundane and temporal I forfeited the good things of eternity. Set aright my thinking, O loving Lord, and save my wretched soul from sin.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Accept my repentance as Thou didst accept the repentance of the thief and the sinful woman. Spurn me not as I return, O Lord most merciful, but forgive all my sins both voluntary and involuntary.

O good and benevolent God, Who alone art truthful, gracious, and merciful; O Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, suffered, died, and was buried, Who rose on the third day and ascended to heaven in glory! May the power of thy majesty come upon me, thy sinful servant, to strengthen me by the message of thine holy gospel.

As Thou wishest, O Master, illumine mine heart and all my members, and cleanse me from all malice and sin. Keep me free from the spots and blemishes of the works of the devil. In thy goodness let me consider matters about Thee and come to understand them and live in accordance with thy will. Let me respect thine awesomeness and do all to please Thee to my last day and the hour of my death.

Thou I am a sinner unworth and impure, O Lord Jesus Christ, I cry out to Thee: In thine ineffable kindness protect my soul, body, and mind from all the snares of the devil. Indeed, holy Father, cover my by thy mercy and forsake me not, lest mine enemies say: We have swallowed him up. And such is my canticle forever, Amen.

Come let us worship God our King. Bow.Come let us worship Christ, our King and our God. Bow.Come let us worship and fall down before the very Lord Jesus Christ, our King and our God. Bow.